INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION
Supplement
[2001 Revision Notice Below]
Industrial production fell 0.3 percent in November. At 137.1 percent of its 1992 average,
output was 5.9 percent below its level in November 2000. Manufacturing output declined 0.2
percent in November. Excluding a 6.4 percent increase in the production of motor vehicles and
parts, manufacturing output dropped 0.7 percent, the third month of similarly sized declines.
Utilities production fell 2.0 percent, and the output at mines rose 0.2 percent. The rate of
capacity utilization for total industry declined 0.3 percentage point, to 74.7 percent, a level 6.0
percentage points below that of November 2000 and 7.4 percentage points below its 1967-2000
average.
Market Groups
The output of consumer goods increased 0.4 percent in November. A 3.3 percent
increase in the production of durables was led by a 6.4 percent increase in automotive products.
Despite increasing 1.3 percent, the production of home electronics was more than 18 percent
below its year-ago level. A 2.8 percent drop in energy products pulled down the nondurable
consumer goods category, which slipped 0.4 percent. The production of nondurable non-energy
products was flat; an increase in the output of chemical products offset declines in the production
of foods and tobacco, clothing, and paper products.
The production of business equipment declined 0.6 percent in November. An increase in
transit equipment was more than offset by further decreases in information-processing
equipment and in industrial and other equipment. The output for each major category has fallen
13 percent to 14 percent in the past twelve months.
The output of defense and space equipment rose 0.4 percent, its third consecutive
monthly increase. The output of construction supplies was unchanged as gains in plywood and
flooring offset declines in gypsum and construction steel. The production of business supplies,
which fell 1.2 percent, has declined 7.6 percent in the past twelve months.
The production of industrial materials fell 0.5 percent; both the durable and nondurable
materials groups declined. Energy materials increased 0.1 percent as improvements in primary
fuels more than offset declines in converted energy materials.
Industry Groups
After consecutive decreases of 0.9 percent in September and October, manufacturing
output declined 0.2 percent in November. The overall factory operating rate slipped 0.2
percentage point, to 73.0 percent, a level 6.2 percentage points below its year-ago level and 8.1
percentage points below its 1967-2000 average. The production of motor vehicles and parts
jumped 6.4 percent; the production indexes both for autos and for light trucks registered large
increases. Even so, the production of durable goods slipped 0.1 percent; widespread declines in
the sector's remaining industries offset the large increase in motor vehicle output. Among
durables, the output of primary metals and of aerospace and miscellaneous transportation
equipment fell the most. Among nondurables, which declined 0.3 percent, only chemicals and
products and textile mill products rose. A 2.0 percent decline in the output of petroleum
products offset almost all of its October increase.
Production at mines ticked up 0.2 percent in November; the utilization rate rose 0.2
percentage point, to 89.2 percent, a level 1.6 percentage points above its 1967-2000 average. A
warm November pushed down the output of utilities, which decreased 2.0 percent. The
operating rate at utilities fell 2.1 percentage points; at 83.1 percent, it is more than 10 percentage
points below its year-ago level and 4.6 percentage points below its 1967-2000 average.
Revision of Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization
On November 27, the Federal Reserve Board published revisions to the index of
industrial production (IP), to the related measures of capacity and capacity utilization, and to the
index of industrial use of electric power. The updated measures reflected the incorporation of
newly available, more comprehensive source data typical of annual revisions. The new source
data were for recent years, primarily 1999 and 2000, although data from 1992 onward was
subject to revision.
Industrial production and capacity utilization will continue to be based on the 1987
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) until the 2002 annual revision, after which they will be
constructed from the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). The new
NAICS-related production indexes will be based on annual output measures that are constructed
by reclassifying the establishments in historical Censuses of Manufactures and Mineral
Industries under NAICS; annual output indexes constructed this way will maximize the
reliability and historical consistency of the IP industry detail.
The updating of source data for IP in the 2001 annual revision included annual data from
the 1999 Bureau of the Census Annual Survey of Manufactures and from selected editions of its
1999 and 2000 Current Industrial Reports. Annual data from the U.S. Geological Survey
regarding metallic and nonmetallic minerals (except fuels) for 1999 and 2000 also were
introduced. The updating included revisions to the monthly indicator for each industry (either
physical product data, production-worker hours, or electric power usage) and to seasonal factors.
Capacity and capacity utilization were revised to incorporate preliminary data from the
2000 Survey of Plant Capacity of the Bureau of the Census, which covers manufacturing, along
with other new data on capacity from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of Energy,
and other organizations. The statistics on the industrial use of electric power incorporated
additional information received from utilities for the past few years and included some data from
the 1997 Census of Manufactures and the 1998 and 1999 Annual Survey of Manufactures.
The revision release and revised data are available on the Board's web site
(www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g17). The revised data also are available through the web site
of the Department of Commerce. Further information on these revisions is available from the
Board's Industrial Output Section (telephone 202-452-3197).
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION: SUMMARY
Seasonally adjusted
| Index, 1992=100 | Percent change
| 2001 | 2001 | Nov. 00 to
Industrial Production | Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. | Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. | Nov. 01
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| | |
Total index | 140.0 138.8 137.6 137.1 | -.3 -.8 -.9 -.3 | -5.9
Previous estimates | 139.8 138.5 136.9 | -.4 -.9 -1.2 |
| | |
Major market groups: | | |
Products, total | 129.4 128.1 126.7 126.5 | -.7 -1.0 -1.0 -.1 | -5.4
Consumer goods | 121.4 120.6 119.6 120.1 | -.7 -.7 -.8 .4 | -1.6
Business equipment | 173.3 168.6 166.0 164.9 | -1.6 -2.7 -1.6 -.6 | -13.5
Construction supplies | 138.8 138.9 135.3 135.2 | 1.1 .1 -2.6 .0 | -3.6
Materials | 157.6 156.8 155.7 154.8 | .2 -.5 -.7 -.5 | -6.7
| | |
Major industry groups: | | |
Manufacturing | 144.5 143.2 142.0 141.7 | -.5 -.9 -.9 -.2 | -6.3
Durable | 178.9 176.4 173.7 173.6 | -.6 -1.4 -1.5 -.1 | -8.5
Nondurable | 111.1 110.8 110.6 110.3 | -.4 -.3 -.1 -.3 | -3.7
Mining | 101.4 102.1 100.0 100.2 | -.5 .7 -2.1 .2 | -.9
Utilities | 121.1 119.1 118.7 116.4 | 2.4 -1.6 -.4 -2.0 | -6.3
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| | Capacity
| Percent of Capacity | Growth
| Average 1982 1988-89 2000 | 2001 | Nov. 00 to
Capacity Utilization | 1967-00 Low High Nov. | Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. | Nov. 01
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| | |
Total industry | 82.1 71.1 85.4 80.7 | 76.4 75.7 75.0 74.7 | 1.7
Previous estimates | | 76.3 75.5 74.6 |
| | |
Manufacturing | 81.1 69.0 85.7 79.2 | 74.6 73.9 73.2 73.0 | 1.6
Advanced processing | 80.5 71.0 84.2 78.0 | 74.5 73.5 72.8 72.8 | .9
Primary processing | 82.2 65.7 88.3 81.0 | 74.8 74.5 73.8 73.3 | 2.7
Mining | 87.6 80.3 88.0 90.4 | 90.4 90.9 89.0 89.2 | .4
Utilities | 87.7 75.9 92.6 93.3 | 87.7 85.9 85.2 83.1 | 5.2
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Note: Estimates for November are preliminary. Estimates from August to October are revised.
G.17 Release Supplement Tables:
